Doudou Yang1,2, Jin Liang1, Yunsheng Wang1, Feng Sun3, Hong Tao4, Qiang Xu4, Liang Zhang1, Zhengzhu Zhang1, Chi-Tang Ho5, Xiaochun Wan1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China. 2. School of Agriculture and Forestry Technology, Longnan Normal College, Longnan, 742500, China. 3. School of Life Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China. 4. School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China. 5. Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tea waste is the residue that remains after tea leaves have been extracted by hot water to obtain water-soluble components. The waste contains a re-usable energy substrate and nutrients which may pollute the environment if they are not dealt with appropriately. Other agricultural wastes have been widely studied as substrates for cultivating mushrooms. In the present study, we cultivated oyster mushroom using tea waste as substrate. To study the feasibility of re-using it, tea waste was added to the substrate at different ratios in different experimental groups. Three mushroom strains (39, 71 and YOU) were compared and evaluated. Mycelia growth rate, yield, biological efficiency and growth duration were measured. RESULTS: Substrates with different tea waste ratios showed different growth and yield performance. The substrate containing 40-60% of tea waste resulted in the highest yield. CONCLUSION: Tea waste could be used as an effective and economic substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation. This study also provided a useful way of dealing with massive amounts of tea waste.
BACKGROUND: Tea waste is the residue that remains after tea leaves have been extracted by hot water to obtain water-soluble components. The waste contains a re-usable energy substrate and nutrients which may pollute the environment if they are not dealt with appropriately. Other agricultural wastes have been widely studied as substrates for cultivating mushrooms. In the present study, we cultivated oyster mushroom using tea waste as substrate. To study the feasibility of re-using it, tea waste was added to the substrate at different ratios in different experimental groups. Three mushroom strains (39, 71 and YOU) were compared and evaluated. Mycelia growth rate, yield, biological efficiency and growth duration were measured. RESULTS: Substrates with different tea waste ratios showed different growth and yield performance. The substrate containing 40-60% of tea waste resulted in the highest yield. CONCLUSION: Tea waste could be used as an effective and economic substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation. This study also provided a useful way of dealing with massive amounts of tea waste.